User Reviews

I first came here back in 2005... The Red House is still around, looking the same. A very intimate, cozy place. There is a small bar with two tables as you enter, then a dining room and a bottle shop with some more tables further back. Most folks come here to dine, but I much prefer to browse the shelves for a good beer and drink it at the high-top table by the bar.

A $1.50 corkage fee applies to beers consumed at the restaurant, which is not bad. But the beers themselves are pricey: I paid $20.95 for a 2011 Lost Abbey Deliverance (consumed in January 2014 and not very good, I am done with this beer).

I was happy to find so many Firestone special releases (Sucaba, Parabola, Velvet Merkin, Double DBA), as well as Old Stock 2009. Lots of vintages indeed, mostly because the better stuff doesn't seem to move much here. They also have a couple of beers on tap at the bar.

The food is called "tapas" but it's not really Spanish or small... we had a duck-liver pate to die for, and some nice local cheeses. Good service, the owner even stopped by to say hello to our friend, who is a local. I will come back next time I'm in Renton.

I really do enjoy this nice restaurant/bottle shop in downtown Renton: one of a few truly great beer destinations in Renton. The atmosphere and food are reason alone to come to the Red House. Dinners focus on Spanish-style Tapas. The wine selection is excellent with one entire wall dedicated to Washington wines. If you go for dinner, ask to be seated in the Beer room at one of the tables there. The Red House has an outstanding selection of beers on the shelves and in coolers. However, beware the following: some beers dont move often and you may find a few duds in there (look for dust). Also, some of the beers stored on the shelves above the coolers (some of the better Belgians) are actually warm to the touch due to proximity to the cooler motor. These beers may be fine but I havent been brave enough to buy one. They charge a corking fee, so keep that in mind when picking out a beer to go with dinner. They often have wonderful seasonal selections on tap. Some of the servers are more familiar with beer OR wine, but not often both. So you may want to request the proper glass when opening your beer selection and also ask to pour it yourself. One of the wine-savvy servers poured my Stone IRS right into a Weizen glass with no head whatsoever.

This is a neat little bottle shop/ bistro in an old house. The front door enters into a small room with a few small tables and a bar set up. There are two other small rooms with a few more tables. One room is has wine bottles on display the other has beer. You can take these to go as packages or open and enjoy there. As of Jan. 2007 the corkage fee was $5 for wine and $1.50 for beer. Some beer is stored in coolers, some on room temp. shelves. The setup lends itself to small parties of 1 to 4 people (good date or buddy place).

The quality seems to be high all the way around. Although I would heed atomicbwax review and date check the shelf temp. English and lager beers because Im not sure how fast these move. However, the numerous selection of Belgium, barley wines, strong beers, etc. will not be as affected by this so fret not. There are also plenty of beers in the cooler.

The service was prompt and professional. No worries here.

They have a large selection of wine and beer. The beer selection is excellent  hundreds of bottles to choose from. They seem to have many hard to find beers. For instance they had 8 different Dogfish Head beers versus the 2 or 3 I see at other places. The tap selection is up to 6 (past reviews had it at 2). I enjoyed an Avery Imperial Stout on tap and a Dogfish Head Immort Ale from the bottle. Good beers!

The food comes in the form of Tapas and appears to be of high quality. I had the Baba Gannouj. It was good. Check out their website for menu and wine and beer selection. It reflects what I actually saw there.

Overall this place is good with an excellent selection of beer and quality service.

I agree with Mickey (reviewed previously) for a number of reasons. The Red House is really pretty cool altogether. First of all, it is in Renton. This is 15 miles outside the city--not a place known for sophisticated beer selections. Second, it is in a charming converted house on a tree lined street. Seattle city folks tend to think of Renton as a run-down, lower-rung restaurant/bar/beer community compared to city neighborhoods like Fremont, Ballard, Cap. Hill, etc. They need to get out of the city center more often. While I would have a agreed with that 10 years ago, The Red House has definitely dispelled such notions of Renton for me in 2006.

The food is both good and challenging--well beyond convetional pub grub. Perhaps the best thing is their concept: beers & wines are prices just slightly above retail store prices, but below the average bar prices. You "shop" for your bottles, then they charge you a reasonable corkage fee if you want to drink it there ($1). This really becomes rewarding as you trade up into beer beers that cost more. I think they have 2-4 taps too. If you have out of town guests who have seen "regular Seattle", take them out to the Red Door for a great beer surprise.

I did not eat or drink here, but did go here with some friedns to buy some beer in the their beer store. We were amazed at the selection. My English friend selected some English beers he has a hard time finding here. We were all very exctied as we drove home. When we got there we opened a beer and were horrified of the odor. The beer was bad. We checked the dates in the bottles, something we should have done before we biught, and were shocked to find that they were all a year or more expired. We did not take them back but we did call to complain., the guy was very aplogetic but needless to say we will not be going back anytime soon.

Too bad the food we saw looked decent and the selection was great, but our experience left a bad taste (literally) in our mouths.

The Red House is a newer establishment in Renton, near the Spirit of Washington Dinner Train depot. It is somewhat unique, as it is a retail store for wine and beer, but also serves lunch and dinner. I have eaten there 3 times in the last year, and made countless trips to purchase beer.

Atmosphere - nicely restored vintage house in downtown Renton. Large deck for outdoor seating (very popular) with indoor seating somewhat cramped. Walls are lined with shelves displaying bottles of wine for sale throughout the restaurant, with a separate room displaying beer on shelving and in upright coolers (this is where I choose to sit when dining there). I am a "beer geek," so I don't mind being surrounded by walls of beer, but this may not appeal to everyone.

Quality - The menu is described as "Tapas." A changing, seasonal tasting menu, with a long list of items - great for ordering several and sharing. I especially recommend the duck salad, serrano ham/manchego cheese plate, and any of the mushroom dishes. I noticed the prices have increased slightly since I last had food there, but, still a great value, IMHO.

Service - Excellent, whether dining or just shopping for beer. They actually have people there that know about beer styles, breweries, etc. Also, they have held several beer tastings, including Allegash, Dogfish Head, Unibroue, a Germain beer tasting, a British Isles beer night in honor of St. Patrick's Day, etc., with a special Tapas menu for each event. I have not yet attended one of these, but hope to in the near future!

Selection - I think the best selection in the south end. Beers are organized by country and brewery, featuring Belgians, barleywines, Euro imports, PNW micros...lots of BIG BEERS! There is a box of empty 6-pack holders to load up, or ask the staff for an empty wine box, better for the bigger size bottles. Also, they have 3 brews on tap (have not seen any casks, yet) and charge a small "corkage" fee if you want to have any of the bottled beers for sale with your meal.

I was suprised to see that this one was not yet listed on BA...hopefully, this will help get the word out on a truly unique beer experience for those in the Seattle area.